Electricity tariffs : Prevent it from affecting the public as end users

The government's decision to implement the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) at a rate of 20 sen/kWh since last January for medium and high voltage industrial electricity users is viewed as having burdened the public and end users.

Citing media reports, a survey by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) last February found that this government policy has affected as many as 78 percent of respondents till some of them have to pay additional bills to the sum of hundreds of thousands or millions of Ringgit.

It is feared that this significant rise in costs will compel industry players to transfer the burden of these high costs to consumers. This will simultaneously and inevitably cause the price of goods to increase.

On May 18, I expressed MCA's concern regarding the government's announcement to no longer provide subsidies for households that use large volumes of electricity.

MCA understands that this economic situation has placed a heavy burden on the government's finances because it has to bear a large subsidy of RM1.93 billion. However, the government today should also be aware that any decision or policy implemented without any in-depth study or careful discussion with consumer associations or industry players, can cause a chain reaction to occur, and directly burden the people and the national economy.

Therefore, the government is urged to engage with industry players via a roundtable discussion in order to reach a win-win agreement for all parties. Representatives of associations and consumer groups should likewise be invited so that their feedback is taken note of to ensure that the public is not burdened with excessive high costs and inflation.

It is also proposed that the government provides incentives for industry players who venture into green energy, or renewable energy. Not only would manufacturing costs be lowered, the dependency on fossil fuels which are limited in resources will likewise be reduced.

Although our country is blessed with abundant natural resources, we should not take them for granted. Therefore, measures to persuade industry players to explore green energy should be encouraged by the government through incentives such as tax exemptions, or the provision of grants.

-MCA online-